Winter Songs

El Noi de la Mare (The Child of the Mother) is a traditional Catalan carol that possibly dates back to the 16th century. The title refers to the Christmas nativity scene. The piece was popularised outside of Spain by the guitarist Segovia who often played Miquel Llobet’s beautiful arrangement as an encore.

From South America, Villancico de Navidad (Christmas Carol) was composed by Paraguayan guitarist Agustín Barrios Mangoré on December 23, 1943. Barrios dedicated it to the young daughter of one of his entourage for her help in what was to be the last year of his life.

พรปีใหม่ (New Year Greetings) was a musical greeting from His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand to his people to usher in the New Year of 1952. It was written in December 1951 (a delicate political period following the Silent Coup) when the King returned to reside in Thailand having spent many of his formative years in Switzerland. First performed on New Year’s Day 1952, it remains a popular New Year song among Thai people today.

As with the above two pieces, Chanson d’Hiver (Winter Song) is also a December composition, but carries a different perspective on the winter season. As repression and censorship loomed in Brazil ahead of the 1964 military coup, Baden Powell joined the exodus of Brazilian composers and musicians who flew to Europe in search of a more creative atmosphere. For the next 20 years, he lived abroad, first in Paris, and later Germany. Chanson d’Hiver was the first piece he wrote on arriving in Paris in December 1963.

You can listen in Spatial Audio - the recording was mixed using Dolby Atmos which gives a height dimension to the sound.